Quietly and efficiently, Deutsche Telekom is going about its plan to become the market leader in all CEE countries it is present in by 2018.
This month we have already seen it acquire the remaining 39.23% stake in T-Mobile Czech Republic from the private equity group Mid Europa Partners (MEP) for €800 million.
What is more, it has been reported that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has signed a memorandum approving the sale of the 49% stake in Slovak Telecom currently owned by the state to Deutsche Telekom, Once the deal goes through, the German telco will become the sole shareholder in the company.
Meanwhile in Greece, Deutsche Telekom is understood to be close to raising the controlling 40% stake it already holds in OTE to 50%. OTE, of course, is itself a shareholder in the Romanian incumbent Romtelecom.
There is also speculation that Deutsche Telekom will seek to buy out Hungary’s Magyar Telekom. However, just as in Slovakia, it will need the government’s approval for such a move.
In Poland, Deutsche Telekom is already the sole owner of T-Mobile Polska. However, last November its strengthened its presence in the country – and indeed the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania – by acquiring GTS Central Europe for €546 million.
Deutsche Telekom is already having a huge impact on the TV markets in the CEE region it is present in. Take Croatia, where despite economic and regulatory pressures Hrvatski Telekom continues to grow its video business.
In the past few days, we have also seen the Macedonian incumbent become the first company within not only the Deutsche Telekom group but also Europe as a whole to operate a network fully based on Internet Protocol (IP).
Given Deutsche Telekom’s stated aim to become the market leader in all the CEE countries it is present in within the next few years, we can almost certainly expect to see more buyouts and acquisitions by the company in the near future.
